The City of Ennis is hosting its 20th annual "Autumn Daze" festival this weekend. The event runs through Sunday in the downtown area of the city of 21,000 people.
"You can come down here and shop with our small town business owners, you can eat local, just make a complete trip out of it," says the City of Ennis' Erica Todd.
Autumn Daze includes a pumpkin patch with 16,000 pumpkins. Among the pumpkins are six that weigh more than 800 pounds and one that weighs more than one ton.
Todd says pumpkin carvers fly in for the festival from across the country every year.
"When we do it at home, you're going to get a jack-o-lantern, you're going to get very simple eyes, nose or mouth. This is complete," she says. "They've done Texas flags, they've done a dinosaur. It's amazing, it's honestly amazing."
In addition to the pumpkin patch, Autumn Daze includes a "giant pumpkin house," Beer Barn, cornhole tournament, crafts and midway rides.
Kids can also paint pumpkins, and the "Corn Corral" is described as a "100-ton playbox filled with corn."
"We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly community and take it a step further by going and tailoring every event for families," Todd says.
Concerts are scheduled through the weekend. Saturday at 6 pm, Gary P. Nunn plays followed by Pat Green at 8:30.
Admission is free Friday, $5 before 4 pm Saturday and $10 after 4 pm. Admission is $5 all day Sunday. Kids younger than 13 can enter free. A complete schedule and more information are available atvisitennistexas.com/ennisautumn .
As the population of North Texas grows, Todd says Ennis can still provide a small-town feel a short drive from larger cities in the Metroplex.
"It is straight out of a Hallmark movie year round, not just during our fall festival, it's gorgeous every day of the year," she says.
Ennis says some events may be cancelled if rain continues this weekend. If rain is falling, Todd urges people to check their Facebook page before leaving home for any changes to the schedule: facebook.com/downtownennistx .
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